The Power of Understanding
by Velace
Summary: Tired of being alone, Regina signs up for a dating site where she meets a woman who, according to that same site, couldn't be more wrong for her.


**Author Note: **My second contribution to SQW. Day 5: Soulmate AU. Enjoy.

* * *

Regina Mills didn't have much time for dating. Truth be told, she didn't have much time for people in general—or patience. People are tiresome on the best of days and socializing had never been something she was all that interested in. As she grew older, however, she started to realize how overrated being alone is and on her thirty-fifth birthday, she had made a decision.

That decision is the reason she sits in bed, a grin plastered across her face as she reads the text she received a few minutes earlier. She'd created a profile on soulmate dot com, a site that claimed to be able to find the one person in a potential 6 billion who is your perfect match in every single way.

Unsurprisingly, she had received contact from numerous _suitors _with a perfect score of 100. According to the site and whatever algorithm it uses to determine such a thing, they were her _soul mates_. For a while, she remained open to the idea of online dating and allowed each of them a date but somewhere along the line, it became clear to her that whoever created the site had absolutely no idea what the hell they were doing.

Her potential suitors ranged from intelligent, yet extremely boring accountants to absurdly rich, slightly older lawyers who were, more often than not, under the impression that they were god's gift to the female race, which they were most definitely not. Shared interests aside, none of them came close to being her type and never managed to get far enough with her for a last name let alone a phone number.

That is until a couple of months later, when she discovered she had failed to choose her orientation and immediately selected her preference for **both**. It's been two months since then and she's had a date every Friday, only one of which had been with a man. There wasn't much change once women were included in the site's filters in her search for someone, but almost three weeks ago while stuck in a tedious meeting, she'd been hit with an idea.

She stopped looking for perfection, spending one Tuesday afternoon between meetings, skimming the lower percentages. Before she knew it, an hour had passed when she finally found someone. Her breath had caught in her throat at the sight of one woman; a blonde named Emma.

With emerald eyes and an impish smile that reminded Regina of her youth, she was caught, hook line and sinker. She had sent her a message, with little to no hope of it being answered, only to sit down that same Tuesday evening to find a response in her inbox.

All it said was; _is this a prank? _But she'd chuckled to herself and replied, assuring the blonde it wasn't. Emma later explained to her that, while she paid little attention to percentages, when she read her profile, she thought Regina was too good for her and that had prompted a small, playful argument about neither of them knowing the other well enough to make such a comparison.

For three days they talked about anything and everything, exchanging messages via the website. It wasn't until Friday when Emma asked who the lucky choice for that week was that Regina realized she didn't have a date planned for that night. She confessed as much and somehow found herself giving over her phone number to the blonde, not given the time to question it before her phone had rung and the two of them were talking well into the next morning.

She had learned Emma's last name was Swan that night, and that was how she'd spent every Friday night since.

Regina is organized, professional and withdrawn. She wears expensive suits and carries herself as though everyone she interacts with in her daily life is beneath her. She loves to ride horses, to garden and given the chance, would prefer to read a good crime novel alone than agree to attend an event surrounded by people who were supposedly _like _her.

She had found out the hard way that people like her are rare, but people like Emma are even more so.

Emma, if she is to be believed, is an absolute mess. She likes everything to be as casual as possible, including when she's at work and especially when it comes to her choice of clothing. She likes most people she meets, constantly talking about one friend or another who had said or done something she thought hilarious, which had Regina rolling her eyes most of the time because _nothing _is as funny as Emma makes it out to be. She loves big crowds and voluntarily shares an apartment with her two best friends. Nights out, camping, anything that lets her socialize and interact with as many people as possible—with the exception of parties. She's too old for those, apparently—Emma loves.

By all accounts, they are complete opposites but their connection was instant.

What sets Emma apart is that she _understands_ people like Regina. She doesn't try to encourage her to be different, doesn't suggest she 'put herself out there' as so many others in her life had suggested at one time or another. Emma accepts that not everyone is like her. In fact, she encourages every whim and idea Regina has with the only stipulation being that she _really _wants to do it and isn't being coerced.

After little more than a month, Regina feels herself falling in love with the woman and every single message she receives has a smile breaking out no matter how foul the mood she's in.

This morning, she had finally found the courage to ask Emma out on a date. She had driven herself mad throughout the day, checking and rechecking her messages when she had a moment, only to find no response. She'd started to think the blonde wasn't interested—had even convinced herself not to check again as she got ready for bed, and then her phone buzzed.

_(1/3) So, _the message started. _I had to chase a guy halfway across the city **on foot** **in the pouring rain**, pulled a muscle in my thigh and spent the better part of the day in hospital being hit on by some creeper doctor. _

Regina laughed, even though a slight pang of jealousy accompanied the text. Whoever that doctor was had been lucky to be in the same room, to _give _her Emma the attention Regina so desperately wanted to give to her—hopefully—with a somewhat more pleasant result than being referred to as a creeper in a text message.

_(2/3) The first time I pick up my phone, I see a message from you, sent almost 12 hours ago, and I feel even worse than I did. But then I read it, and feel even worserer—it is a word, shush. _

_(3/3) Now I'm wondering if I'm too late to say yes because I didn't think my day could suck any more, but if it turns out that I am too late… well, I may have to psyche myself up enough to throw myself in front of a train._

Still grinning, Regina dials the blonde's number. It rings twice before Emma picks up, sounding exhausted. "Hey you."

"Hi yourself," Regina replies, the remaining stress of the day seeping from her body with such a simple utterance. She found early on that Emma's voice is capable of invoking a great many things. "I'm glad you haven't found a train yet."

Emma chuckles, an audible puff of air following that has Regina easily imagining the swell of her cheeks. "Well, you did wait 12 hours for me," she says. "I thought it might be a bit dramatic to run down to the subway after only 5 minutes."

"Maybe a little," Regina agrees, biting her lip as she hears the soft hum of amusement from the other end. "So, you do want to go on a date with me?"

"I've been waiting for you to ask," Emma confesses and Regina opens her mouth to question why _she _had to be the one to ask before Emma interrupts with a reason. "I can't cook to save my life, so we'd end up at some fancy, over-priced restaurant with complicated menus and too many people. You said once that you loved to cook but didn't have much opportunity and I thought if you asked, staying in might be an option."

Regina sighs and Emma seems to mistake the content sound for something else as she explains, "I thought you'd be more comfortable. I mean, I didn't want to assume, I just don't want to screw it up the first chance I get and I know you hate p—"

"Emma," Regina murmurs, smiling as the blonde falls silent. "I sometimes forget," she admits softly, closing her eyes as warmth enters her chest and she rests her head back on the headboard. "We've known each other little more than a month and already you know me better than anyone else."

"Oh." Emma chuckles before she quips, "Not bad for someone with only a 5% compatibility rating, huh?"

"No," Regina says, stomach giving a pleasant little flip as she agrees, "Not bad at all."


End file.
